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tv   America Live  FOX News  September 6, 2012 1:00pm-3:00pm EDT

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i bet it's tough for the city, there is a lot of traffic. anything you can do to keep a smile on people's faces. kind of an elvis move there. s.w.a.t. team. jon: keeping those convention goers moving. good for them. thanks for watching us. jenna: "america live" right now. megyn: a critical moment in president obama's re-election effort. welcome to a special edition of "america live." we had james taylor singing behind me a moment ago and the f orb o fighters are coming up shortly. i'm megyn kelly on the final day of the democratic national convention. we are three hours in from the gavel today and nine hours from now president obama will take to the stage right here and formally accept his party's nomination. the president will get a chance to tell the american people very deserves a second term. and a poll released tuesday of this week shows the challenge he now faces. the poll from the hill asked
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likely voters, these are the folks that are not just registered but we believe will get to the polls on election day about the president's job performance and whether he deserves to be rereelected, just 40% says he does deserve that. 54% says he does not. chief whitehouse correspondented henry is here live in charlotte with more. >> reporter: we are told by the president's senior advisers he still has not finished his speech, still tinkering with it. he's been working with several drafts. he'll do a lot more work this afternoon. to give you an idea of how much work is going into this. and it's interesting because when you say this is a critical moment in his presidency in hisee election i was talking to one of the the president's senior advisers who rolled his eyes at the idea that i don't know how many biggest speeches of his life throughout the 2008 campaign, throughout his presidency he's had big
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speeches, many of them rising to the occasion. the question tonight is can he rise to the occasion one more time as would he saw bill clinton do last night in trying the make the case for this president. in terms of themes here what we should be looking for is that this president is going to do a little bit of what bill clinton did last night and not so much talk about his record of the last four years but try to reframe the election about the next four years and what he would do in a second term. take a listen to his deputy campaign manager stephanie cutter. >> we have a of how to rebuild this economy in a way that will be meant to last, where the middle class is at the core and foundation of a strong economy. and the president will layout what that path is forward. >> reporter: what is interesting as the obama campaign focuses on the next four years, when you heard bill clinton last night say, look, nobody, not enemy, he said could have turned this around in one term, that is different from what president obama said early in 2009 when he did an interviews with nbc news and said, look if i don't get
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this turned around in three and a half years it's going to be a one-term proposition. what they are doing last night and doing tonight is move the goal post a bit, shake this up and say actually it's going to take two terms to get this done. we are hearing little dribbles and hints that maybe the president will have some new policy tonight. but i'm also being cautioned that it's not going to be some grand new economic plan. we saw his jobs act last fall. instead it might be some tin erring around the edges. he wants to lout his vision tonight his top aides say for the next four years and focus a lot lesson the last four years. obviously if he frames it that way it's a much better case for him against mitt romney, megyn. megyn: it was not as he hoped it would be. they hoped to be outdoors this evening in front of 75,000 people. they will be indoors in front of 20,000. henry thank you. new fallout today over a very controversial vote on the floor of the democratic national convention. what a spec particular cal it
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was on the tphraort. delegates deciding whether god and jerusalem as the capitol of israel should be put back into the parties official platform. democrats had taken serious heat from removing them. they with in in 2008, they took them out, decided not to refer to jerusalem as the israeli capitol, not to refer to god and a big dust up ensued. when the convention chairman called for a voice vote to try to put them back in what followed was chaos and confusion, watch. >> all those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye skhrabg. >> all those opposed say no. >> no. >> in the opinion -- let me do that again. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> i've! >> aye! >> all those opposed say no.
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>> no. >> i -- i guess -- >> you've got to let them do what they are going to do. >> i'll do that one more time. all those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye! >> all those delegates opposed say no. >> no. >> in the opinion of the chair two-thirds have voted in the affirmative the motion is adopted, and the platform has been amended as shown on the screen. [booing ] megyn: look what was sitting in the teleprompter when the los angeles mayor was calling for that vote? it was already loaded with a script that read, quote, in the opinion of the chair two-thirds having voted in the affirmative, so there was a question about whether they understood that the crowd would be more in favor of that vote than it turned out to be. chris stirewalt is our fox news
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digital politics editor and host of foxnews.comlive. taking a look at some of the comments across the ideological spectrum what we watched on this floor, a bad fumble, awkward embarrassing. beyond awkward, embarrassing stupid, an unforced error, chaos others went onto say. this is not what the democrats wanted us to be talking about yesterday and yet everyone was talking about it. >> you had to because it was so weird. it was an unforced error. you saw when the obama administration and the campaign, the white house, the president himself swung into action they were coming in to say, stop doing it wrong, fix this. whether or not they thought they should have done it in the first place there is some indications that poor core owe booker the mayor of newark who had the scuff with the president's team over the bain capital ads before, the bus got near him, maybe it backed over him a little bit because he was the
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cochair of the committee that does the platform, that took the language out and then had to put it back in. but you could tell the white house was very angry, the president was very angry, his campaign was very angry about what had happened but more specifically about that moment that you just showed, because that was the botch. that was the real botch. they tried to do it on the hurry up to just get some delegates on the floor, do a quick voice vote, knowing that it was already loaded in the prompter, dust their hands of it and move on. instead they made it worse, they intensified it and instead they looked disorganized. megyn: the problem for the democrats is that now debbie wasserman schultz wants us to believe that this was just -- it wasn't an intentional omission, that it was some sort of technical error, and yet you have at least half, from just an estimate as an observer of the delegates standing up and forcefully saying that they want that out, they did not want to vote for that to go back in.
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listen to how debbie wasserman schultz described it and listen to stephanie cutter who is the deputy campaign manager. >> was it an omission, was it intentional. >> it was not an omission and not intentional, absolutely not. >> how did it get out there? >> well, like i said sometimes there are technical corrections. we have to make technical corrections to legislation on the house floor all the time. there's been some pretty key words missing from legislation the republicans have put out on the house floor in congress and it happens. >> he hadn't read it. and, you know, when he found out about these two things they were, you know, under any circumstances they were a mistake, and he said, we've got to fix it. and he directed his staff to go and fix that yesterday. megyn: chris? >> well, there in you seat inherent conflict between political committees and campaigns. when you hear stephanie cutter from the obama campaign talk they say, hey, dnc, you screwed
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up, we had to come in and make you fix it. stop doing it wrong. and you heard from debbie wasserman schultz at the committee, the organization that is hosting this event, and putting this together, oh, it was just we hit control x and control v the wrong way on the keyboard but clearly it wasn't that the word was missing it was that it had been replaced with something else. it was that the word god has been replaced with other words and that the language about jerusalem had been replaced with other language. so this was not like a clerical error. stephanie cutter knows that, and this is the administration, angry at the way that this was handled and the way that this was done, and it was done wrong from pen to post. all day, it was done wrong for two days and you can sense the frustration in the obama campaign about it. megyn: not only that, debbie wasserman schultz comes out and says that it was not intentional, okay, despite the fact we saw all those folks disa growing with her, wanting it back in, wanting it out i should say, and then she came out,
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chris and said that there was no discourse on the floor yesterday. i mean, once again these politicians want us to not believe our lying eyes. there was no discourse. look at this guy, tell that guy there is no discourse. you know, i mean it puts them in an awkward position of having to sacrifice some credibility now. >> look, when you look at how this convention has shaped up, and what it has been to this point, it has been about the democratic base. when you look at who the speakers were in prime-time last night aside from bill clinton who is a throw become to a more moderate era in the democratic party, you saw sandra fluke. elizabeth warren. these are not people to be put before moderate voters, but they did it anyway. this was done to satisfy atheists in the base, arab americans for obama and other coalition groups that don't like the preferential treatment for is raoerblgs th israel, the
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special relationship. and it did not go smoothly. we talked to people who were not happy about it. megyn: yeah, i mean we saw it with our own eyes. chris stirewalt, thank you, sir. >> you bet. megyn: well there are new reports today that some federal employees are being pressured by their bosses to vote for president obama. we'll investigate who this involves and what happens if it is view. and bill clinton may have given the president his biggest boost yet when he suggested no president in history could have turned out this u.s. economy in four years. but michael reagan says his dad, former president ronald reagan did it in just three years. he joins us on that right after this break. >> four years ago in the 1980 election they didn't mention the misery index, possibly because it was then over 20%. [cheering]
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>> and do you som know something? they won't mention it in this election either. it's down to 1.6 and dropping. 1.11.6 and dropping. ing ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... 11.6 and dropping. fruit taste they love. could've had a v8... can help make you a better investor. our e-trade 360 investing dashboard shows you where your money is, live. e-trade pro is so usable you'll actually use it. and our apps are the ultimate in mobile investing. become a better investor at e-trade.
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>> president obama start wed a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me now. no president, no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years. [cheers and applause] megyn: well bill clinton's speech to the dnc last night may have given the president his biggest boost yet. to claim no president in history could have fixed the mess our
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commander-in-chief inch hertde inherited is sparking a new debate. the year is 1981, a new leader takes off near a full on recession. three years later america was very much on the road to recovery. >> today of all the major industrial nations of the world america has the strongest economic growth, one of the lowest inflation rates, the fastest rate of job creation, 6.5 million jobs in the last year and a half, a record 600,000 business incorporations in 1983, and the largest increase in real after-tax personal income since world war 2 ii. america has renewed its leadership in developing the vast new opportunities in science and high technology.
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america is on the move again and expanding toward new eras of opportunity for everyone. megyn: michael reagan is a political consultant and chairman of the reagan group and reagan.com. michael, welcome back. how did your dad do it? what was so different then versus now? >> well what was different then is ronald reagan lowered taxes, ronald reagan cutback regulation and stimulated the economy. people forget about the carter recession. the carter recession he took over from was what, 7.5 unemployment going to 10.8% unemployment, 21% interest rates. 18% inflation, and bill clinton says there was no worse economy? we had gas lines, we had m malaise. ronald laying began went in there, lowered taxes, cut capital gains and the rest was history as you just heard from my father, three years. megyn: looking at the median family income, take a look at how it is now.
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there's been about a $4,000 less since december of 2007 when the recession is said to have begun. so, 54,916 was the real median household income back then. today is it 50,964. and during -- just keep this full screen on this green. put it back up if you would, please. when your dad was president, in his recovery fromle from 81 to 86 rose by $3,380. it rose. here we lost four grand. back then we went up almost $3.5000. why do you think that is? >> people were going back to work again. unemployment remember was double digits. people were going back to work and investing in business and industry. industry was in fact growing. so by the way was the revenue going into the federal government. when x father took over the presidency the federal government was bringing in about
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$500 billion a year. when he left with that trickle down economic theory they were bringing in almost a trillion dollars a year. so the problem has never been higher taxes the problem has always been the spending that goes on in washington d.c. and if you look at bush 41's economy the last two years of the bush 41 economy were stronger than in fact the first two years of clinton's economy, and clinton's economy didn't happen until 1994 when republicans were elected, newt gingrich took over as speaker of the house and they lowered capital gains, reformed welfare and brought a balanced budget. they dragged bill clinton to the table on this. and now he's living the bill clinton economy. megyn: that is an interesting point. bill clinton's remarks last night suggested he was able to really turn things around but he had to work with congressional republicans on those issues and that's when he so-called did the
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triangulation where he worked across the aisle because he was forced to. your dad, 5 a months into the reagan recovery the number of americans drawing unemployment insurance had gone down almost 12%. so he lowered the people getting unemployment insurance by almost 12%. today there's been an increase since the 2007 recession began of 19%. so he lowered it 11, almost 12%. now it's up 19%. the numbers don't compare well for our current president. but he points out, michael, when he took office we were shedding 800,000 jobs a month, so he stabilized the ship. >> he says that, but the reality of it is we've lost 4 million jobs since the recession began back in 2007, net 4 million jobs. with ronald reagan we gained 7.8 million jobs from the time the recession started, the carter recession started. and so the problem with this
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president is he's refusing to look at history. he's refusing to look at coolidge of the 20s, looking at john f. kennedy of the 60s, ronald reagan of the 80s. he's going down this path thinking that more spending is going to in fact solve the problems of the world that we live in today, and that just absolutely is not true. it has never worked in the history of this country. ronald reagan understood that, that's yes was reelected because the economy had turned around and it was done in a three-year period of time. he didn't ask, give me four more years so i can fix what i haven't been able to do. by the way didn't blame a jimmy carter e. wasn't sitting back blaming jimmy carter for everything. he took control, he took the reigns of washington and he went forward. how did he get his tax cut passed in august of 1981 he invited tip o'neal to the white house. he went up to the white house and came back the next day after having dinner, told his staff he's on board with ronald reagan's tax cuts. they said to tip o'neal, tip how did you do that. he said was ronald reagan talked
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to me about the greatness of america not taxes. megyn: michael reagan, thank you sir. in 2009 president obama told nbc news that the failure to improve the economy would make him a one term president. now he's talking about four more years. we'll talk about the importance of tonight's speech with ben labolt. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --
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megyn: there is a growing election controversy in washington after a government accountability group accused faa supervisors of using the agency's employees to vote for president obama -- of encouraging them and other democrats. if that is true it would be a violation of federal law. trace gallagher tracking that story from our breaking news desk. >> reporter: two faa managers flew to the seattle office and spoke at a mandatory meeting.
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a watchdog group called cause for action has identified the two senior staffers, one of them being a man named ray towel, and the other john hickey. john hickey told workers that republicans wanted to cut the faa budget 15% and then quoting here, if the republicans win office their jobs may be affected. if the democrats win office then their jobs would not be affected. well at least two of the seattle faa employees thought the comments were so inappropriate they contacted their supervisors who in turn contacted the faa's regional counsel. fox news obtained an email sent from the supervisor to the regional counsel that says and i'm quoting, there seems to be some energy within the office as a reaction to mr. hickey's inappropriate at best comments and more than a few employees took umbrage that a person in such an elevated position in the agency would make those remarks.
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my understanding is that more than one employee's perception was that mr. hickey with us essential low telling them how to vote if they wanted to keep their job. of course this could be a violation of the hatch act the law that prohibits government agencies from getting involved in partisan activities. now, cause of action has contacted eric holder the attorney general, as well as the inspector general's office asking for an investigation. so far no response from the inspector general, but the faa has released a statement saying, quote, the faa takes hatch act violations very seriously and will cooperate fully with any review of all the allegations and the northwestern branch of the faa is also investigating this. megyn. megyn: trace gallagher, thank you. massachusetts senate candidate elizabeth warren painting an
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ugly picture of the system. why didn't democrats do more to fix it when they held all the reigns in washington. claims that a hacker group has stolen some of governor mitt romney's tax returns. we'll have the details on what this group is now demanding. plus more now from behind the scenes at the dnc. watch this. you're inside the fox news trailer. if is where we prepare for all the shows. this thing is huge over 5,000 square feet. instead of a double wide they say it's an 81-wide. they nicknamed it bertha. they give us direction where we need to sit anchors, here is one bret baier, here is his name tag in case he gets confused across from mine if case i get confused. as we move on you can see they've got everything here, daytime they've got prime-time this is where all the big stars sit, oh, wait, there he is aga again, james rosen big star and also as he's identified himself
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lowly sir, it's not true, james. >> thank you, i try. >> they can't hear you, you're not phaoeubgd up. >> when we are done we leave this building, we walk out of the trailer and let me show you where we go. now you can see it's not just fox news, it's four out of the five big networks that all have their tailors out here. you can see the gravel on the ground and with shoes like this you can't be walking. so we hop into these little golf carts and off we go to the time warner cable arena which is right across the street. see you in a minute. [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve,
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the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day.
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megyn: well, massachusetts candidate elizabeth warren in the national spotlight at the dnc last night, railing against corporationing and an enterprise -- corporations and an enterprise system that she says is, quote, rigged against the middle class. listen here. >> people who can be counted on to help their kids, their parents, their neighbors and the lady down the street whose car broke down, people who work their hearts out but are up against a hard truth. the game is rigged against them. their fight is my fight, and it's barack obama's fight too. [cheers and applause] people feel like the system is rigged against them, and here's the painful part: they're right.
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the system is rigged. we're americans. we celebrate success. we just don't want the game to be rigged. we started to take children out of factories and put them in schools. we began -- [applause] to give meaning to the words "consumer protection" by making food and medicine safe. and we gave the little guys a better chance to compete by preventing the big guys from rigging the markets. megyn: joining me now, simon rosenberg, president and founder of ndn, a think tank and advocacy organization, also former campaign adviser to president bill clinton, and marc thiessen who's a former speech writer for president george w. bush. we'll have this discussion as foo fighters go through their sound. james taylor, then foo fighters, they were supposed to be doing this outside at the stadium l
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later, they will be performing in front of a much smaller crowd in a little bit. this isn't the real performance, just a sound check. but it's been entertaining. okay, let's talk about elizabeth warren. you tell me, marc, she claims the system is rigged, and brit hume last night suggested she sounded like somebody who was railing against an incumbent president, and she was advocating to unseat that incouple men president -- incumbent president. >> i think brit is right. look, i agree with elizabeth warren that the system and the economy are rigged, but here's the interesting thing. as she was standing there on that stage railing against corporate lobbyists and a rigged economy, she forgot to mention something. her microphone was paid for by corporate lobbyists who have benefited from obama's rigged economy. the entire democratic national convention that you have there behind you is being subsidized by a $10 million line of credit from duke energy whose ceo is one of obama's biggest political contributors. duke energy is also one of the biggest recipients of obama stimulus funds. they've gotten more than $200
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million of our tax dollars through obama's green energy program, so elizabeth warren is standing there railing against a rigged economy on a podium that was paid for by crony capitalism. and it's not just duke energy. she failed to mention solyndra whose executives gave $87,000 to barack obama's campaign and got $535 million of our funds. she forgot to mention that 71% of the obama green energy funds were given to his political cronies. so, yes, we've got a rigged economy, but the rigging has gone out of control under barack obama. megyn: simon? [laughter] >> i think what she was referring to is what's happened in the disparity of income growth between middle income people and wealthy people and how people like mitt romney can pay a third, his tax rate can be a third of what middle class people pay. middle class people pay 30-35% on their taxes. mitt romney paid 13%.
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he's got tax havens all around the world to shield himself from taxes. what she was referring to was wealthy people have tools to get out of paying their fair share that regular people don't have, and to protect that the republicans are saying we want to rower the tax rate. paul ryan wants to eliminate all tax rates from mitt romney so he's paying 0% making the disparity in wealth even greater while also starving things like infrastructure and schools that are needed for middle class people to get ahead. i think she was obviously referring to something different than what marc was referring to, and i think this is a legitimate part of the debate. megyn: but she did rail on lobbyists. i want to ask you this, marc, because simon talks about the tax rate. the truth is mitt romney and billionaires and so on, they pay a higher tax rate on their incomes than anybody in the country. on their income tax, they pay the most. but they make a lot of their money, some of these people, through capital gains tax, and that is a lower rate than income
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tax, so that's what simon's referring to. bill clinton got up here and talked about how well things were under him, he actually lowered the capital gains tax on americans, so there's a real question about whether, you know, this whole argument is playing into the republicans' argument that the democrats are trying to divide us by class. >> no, that's exactly right. bill clinton lowered the corporate -- lowered the tax rates, and you're absolutely right, we need to, we need to encourage entrepreneurship instead of railing against entrepreneurship. i think it's very telling that the democrats chose the intellectual author of you didn't build that, the person who gave the idea to barack obama in the first place, as one of their top speakers. and the idea that she's standing there as the champion of the middle class, under barack obama the average income of an american family in the last three years has fallen $4,000 in the last year. 2.6 million americans have fallen under the poverty line out of the middle class, so if barack obama's champion of the
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middle class, i'd hate to see what an enemy looks like. we have to free up entrepreneurship, free up business and get rid of all these corporate loom holes and -- loopholes. and the problem is that barack obama and elizabeth warren don't want to get out of the business of picking winners and losers. they're perfectly fine with a rigged economy as long as they get to rig it. megyn: simon, michelle obama told us that barack obama doesn't think of us as us and them, yet last night elizabeth warren talks about how oil companies are bad, billionaires aren't great, wall street ceos act like we should thank them. isn't that divisive language? all wall street ceos are bad, billionaires are paying lower tax rates than their secretaries and oil companies, i mean, isn't that the kind of division that michelle obama was trying to say the president doesn't do? >> i don't think there's anything that elizabeth warren said last night that was untrue, and i think that part of what
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the -- it's a little loud in here, i'm doing my best -- [laughter] i love that video, by the way, megyn, that was terrific before we came on. i think what elizabeth warren was trying to say last night, and i think what the democrats are saying this week is we just have a different vision for how the economy should work than the republicans. we believe that we're all in this together, that people should pay their fair share, we believe that the government has to have the needed resources to invest in things like infrastructure and education that are critical for long-term growth. i don't think last week mitt romney laid out any kind of compelling vision whatsoever of how he's going to make the economy better. i mean, this notion that by lowering tax rates and deregulating the economy things are going to get better, we tried that in the bush decade, and it create created the worst economic recession since the great depression. they're not offering anything new. so i think what elizabeth warren is and this convention is about is we're laying out a different vision.
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it's a vision we tried in the '90s, and it worked, and we're going to try to do it as we go forward recovering from the worst financial crisis in the 70 years. megyn: simon, really working with you. they were doing a nice crescendo just as you were making your point. in any event, great jobs guys. >> thank you. megyn: coming up, new controversy over one of the president's most infamous campaign trail folks. we'll rook at the president's admitted regrets over his you didn't build that claim, and why he is actually still standing by his message. plus, the president's hopes to recreate his famous greek temple moment from 2008 now reduced to sharing the same dnc backdrop we've seen all week. a look ahead at what kind of fireworks to expect tonight. ♪ ♪
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[applause] >> if you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. there was a great teacher somewhere in your life. [cheers and applause] somebody helped to create this unbelievable american system that we have that allows you to thrive. somebody invested in roads and bridges. if you have got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. megyn: welcome back here to charlotte where foo fighters are really lighting up the joint here. they are just rocking out. it sounds great. hopefully, you can hear the segment at home. that was a quote that fired up the president's opponents and provided the theme for part of the republican national convention last week. but in a new interview, the president says while he regrets the, quote, syntax of that
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statement, he does not regret the substance. joining me now, dick harpootlian, chairman of the south carolina democratic party. you have caused an uproar because you made a comment about governor nickty hale -- nikki haley of your state talking about how she's been doing sort of comments for the republicans, and you said, quote: she was down in the bunker a la ava brawn, on o, hitler's mistress, and she has come out and called you an angry, hateful man. the romney campaign has demanded that you and other democratic officials cease and desist on comparing those with who you disagree about nazis, because you're one of three who is tied the republicans to them just this week. how do you respond? >> well, i think two things, and i sort of regret the syntax like the president does. this is a woman as governor who has not only avoided the press, she refuses to ask questions -- answer questions at press
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conferences. she goes to the basement, has bodyguards there, won't let people that want to ask real questions in. we offered to come over and debate her about the policies of romney versus obama and perhaps the choice of examples was hyperbole and wrong, but, you know, when you're in the heat of all this, you may exceed the bounds of what people think are good taste. i've done it before, and i'm afraid i may do it again in the future. megyn: you're a colorful guy. you've been on our program, and you've said some colorful things in the past, and some of that is lovable, and some of it isn't. and there is a question about whether, you tell me, dick, is this some sort of a theme that's emerging? >> no. megyn: you made a comment, a top kansas delegate made a comment about how romney's dishonest like hitler, john burton, the chair of the democratic party in california said just like joseph goebbels, they lie big. he suddenly had to go home for a root canal after that comment, and now you. it's been three nazi comments
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about republicans. >> again, the high pearly abounds -- hyperbole abounds this week, and it's something i regret. what i really regret is making a comment like that distracts from the discussion of romney's economic plan versus president obama's plan and the real issues of this campaign. that's the only regret i have, and out of this national focus, i may cross the line again, but not about nazis, and i didn't want to imply she's a nazi. what i wanted to imply is she lives in an insular world where people cannot ask her questions about transparency, and she refuses -- last week she told a reporter i'm not answering her questions. she called another reporter a little girl and refused to answer her questions, a 27-year-old woman, and that was the point she was trying to make. megyn: she came on this broadcast this week and answered questions, but i want to get what we're having you on to talk about. president obama regrets the syntax of you didn't build that,
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but not the underlying mention. republicans and independents alike, small business other thans are walking around with t-shirts saying, i did build this. should he have been more apolo apologetic or more of an explanation? >> sure. well, as someone who just jammed their foot in their mouth this week, i've got great sympathy. his explanation, i think, is very good. and what he means is, and i know what he means -- and most people do, those not trying to make political points with it -- is that you don't do it alone. we're all in this together. government does help some people. we found out after that comment that even mitt romney at one point had government assistance for one of his bain companies. i mean, it's -- this idea that government is bad or shouldn't be involved, we wouldn't have interstates, we wouldn't have a nuclear industry, we wouldn't have most of the things we have in modern society today o without nasa, without government being involved. megyn: but is it a question about government or the size of government?
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>> absolutely. megyn: bill clinton said the era of big government is over when he had his second term, but that is not the message we're hearing from democrats -- >> well, you've got to discern between the two approaches. for instance, in my state, south carolina, the largest single employer is the federal government. savannah river plant, shaw air force base, paris island marine base, the largest single employer, more people getting a federal paycheck -- and good paychecks, by the way. so when you start talking about cutting back government, that's what's going to happen in south carolina. we're going to have huge unemployment. so how do we do that? reasonable people sitting down saying we're going to cut this, we're going to cut that. and we haven't gotten that reaction from our senior senator, jim demint. we have from our junior senator, lindsey graham. megyn: dick harpootlian, thank you for being here. >> thank you, and thanks for the foo fighters. megyn: you'll hear 'em later. coming up, were mitt romney's tax records stolen?
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megyn: new developments in a secret service investigation into claims by hackers who claim to have stolen mitt romney's tax returns. they posted letters threatening to release these alleged returns to the public unless he pays a $1 million ransom. trace gallagher has more in our west coast newsroom. trace? >> reporter: and that anonymous letter was sent to mitt romney's accounting firm, some gop offices in tennessee and several tennessee newspapers have actually published that. someone claiming they stole mitt
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romney's tax returns and they wanted that money that you talked about, the million bucks, to be in very hard hard-to-trace internet dollars like wires and transfers and the like. the secret service, as you said, is investigating, but now pricewaterhousecoopers has come out and said, quote, we are aware of the allegations that have been made regarding improper access to our systems, we are working closely with the u.s. secret service, and at this time there is no evidence that our systems have been compromised or that there was any unauthorized access to the data in question. on top of that, franklin police say there were no recent alarms or break-ins at the five-story building. but keep in mind, the building does not restrict access during business hours, and the doors and elevators are all controlled by key cards, so there's always the chance this might have been an inside job if it happened. mitt romney, as you know, released his 2010 returns, estimated his 2011 returns and
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so for the romney campaign is saying they're not going to comment on it, they're going to leave it up to the secret service to come to a conclusion. megyn: all right, trace, thanks. well, there is a blistering attack ad that uses the president's favorite arguments to challenge the middle class. pollster frank luntz shows us how this is working with voters. and remember the spectacle of the president's acceptance speech four years ago. up next, we will compare that with what's on tap for tonight. ♪ [cheers and applause]
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megyn: a fox news alert. two hours until the gavel drops in charlotte for the final day of the democratic national convention. tonight president obama takes center stage for the biggest speech of his reelection campaign. welcome, i'm megyn kelly. we are live from the dnc here in charlotte. remember the scene back in 2008, more than 80,000 people surrounding the would-be president in a denver stadium. decorated with what the media came to call the greek temple. look at the fireworks and everything. four years later he will be speaking here in the time-warner cable arena. organizers citing weather as the reason for the big change. the president saying he did not want to risk anyone's safety in the wakes of report that we might be potentially facing
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thunderstorms. now the audience at dnc down to 15,000 to 20,000 people. jonah goldberg is editor at large for the "national review" and a fox news contributor. there is such disappointment among democrats in charlotte. some are leaving early. u.s. airways is offering free flights home for those who wanted to be part of the festivities and can't. we heard from debbie wasserman-shultz who said they wanted to get names and e-mails and encourage get out the vote efforts, party enthusiasm. now there is a backlash by some who are saying this cancellation, the movement wasn't in their view about lack of democratic enthusiasm but the quote is from the charlotte observer * it might soon be. >> i find it very unlikely this
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was purely about the weather. as late as wednesday they were saying they are were going to do this rain or shine. it seems implausible to me with a 20% likelihood of rain and sort after zero percent likelihood of severe weather according to to of the meteorologists they talked to that something else is going on. i see this as part of the larger problem that intawm overpromises and underdelivers. they promised to fill the stadium and have this dramatic night and they are not going to do it. i think that's a bad story for them. megyn: there are reports they were concerned about turnout and video of tens of thousands of people standing in what could have been a rainy partially filled stadium with drapes over their heads look at their candidate and then the juxtaposition of that from four years ago when it was hope and change and the thought of a different kind of candidate
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coming onto the national scene and fireworks and greek columns. that clip we played before the break was powerful. it takes you back to what people believe might be possible from four years ago. let's just watch it again. [♪] [cheers and applause] now here tonight in charlotte it will be a much scaled down party. there won't even be a balloon drop because they couldn't get that together in the 24 hours. how does that play?
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>> it's like he rode in on a unicorn and he's riding out on a donkey. there was incredible hype about obama in 2008. it's understandable they built it up so much. but at the same time they created a huge expectation. this whole fiasco with the stadium is just a perfect sort of symbol of the whole thing. i don't for a moment believe they were going to fill all those seats. they were talking about sending bus as far away as macon, georgia. they couldn't give away tickets to the things. stephanie cutter said they had a long waiting list. i'm not sure i buy it. i think this is the fundamental theme republicans have been trying to hammer on, the sense of disappointment, more sorrow than anger. this is a perfect representation of that symbolic problem that
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they have had. i think it's interesting that this is a problem for them in north carolina where president obama came into office, they considered north carolina to be the front edge of their ever expanding coalition. they thought this would be a beachhead. they made this mistake of picking north carolina as the home of their convention because i don't think they are going to win north carolina. i think they will pull out of north carolina when this is over. if they had done this in an obama-friendly state they probably wouldn't have had a problem filling seats. megyn: his most loyal supporters believe he can bring something different to the country and perhaps he already has. there is a headline in the ""huffington post"." it, too, reflects how some on the left perceive president obama and how some on the right have believed he's behaved since he has been in office. it says "the king's speech."
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i don't think that's a reference to any stuttering problem by president obama who is always eloquent. the left clearly has high expectations for him. >> they do. this crowd is not representative, i think of the public at large. this is a strange moment in american politics. both parties are making this enormous gamble. the republican party has has a huge advantage because the country at the presidential level tends to be center right culturally conservative. for the first time you have a republican party at the presidential level is not leading aggressively on being conservative and a liberal part i leading on being ideological and liberal. this convention particularly out of prime time has been treating the abortion issue as if it's a wing issue when in fact it's a losing issue at the national level. this country has been trending pro-life for the last couple
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decades. both sides are making a huge gamble. the republicans have convinced themselves their ideology is a disadvantage and the democrats have convinced themselves their ideology is an advantage. this place might as well be a "star trek" convention. megyn: you say it like you have personal experiences. we'll have to talk about that sometime. thank you very much. it's like we are both there now with these little headsets on. locals are dealing with the fallout of not using bank of america stadium a u.s. airways is make changes to accommodate those folks who were told they could not attend. people were encouraged to have home parties and the predent was trying to do some outreach. but the airline is allowing anyone shut out to leave charlotte a day earlier at no extra cost. the venue change left 50,000
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folks with canceled plans. we have no way of confirming those numbers. the president will try to convince voters to give him another 4 years in office. in denver mr. obama made several promises about our future and our politics. did he come through? >> reporter: the president will be judged by many standards. some of those are his own words. four years ago he made promises. some he kept, some he didn't. if president obama lived up to the standards of candidate obama. >> tonight more americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. >> reporter: that cause candidate obama four years ago. >> more you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. >> reporter: blaming president bush. >> the failure to respond is the
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direct result of a broken system in washington and the failed policies of george w. bush. >> it many time for them to own their failure. >> reporter: the question tonight, will he? >> we measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage. >> reporter: since the president took office family incomes declined by $4,000. candidate obama also promises ... >> in four years we'll end our dependence on oil from the middle east. >> reporter: the imports increased in the last four years. >> changes in the tax code. >> reporter: but nascar, and energy lobbyists won tax breaks this year. >> many of these plans will cost money which is why i laid out how i'll pay for every time. >> reporter: but the president's latest budget carries a trillion dollar
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deficit. >> it's an awkward situation for him to be in for sure. but he's going to make the best of it pept's got to remind people how he got into this. >> reporter: some say political speeches aren't worth the paper they are printed on and often the political promises are frequently broken. megyn: thank you. there was a blistering new attack ad that uses one of the president's favorite arguments to challenge the republican ticket when it comes to the middle class. pollster fringe luntz is here and d pollster frank luntz is here and he shows us how this is work with the voters. >> an insider account of the meltdown of the big debt deal and a new bob woodward book just ahead. >> senator mcconnell and i had a solid agreement last sunday. it was the president who
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derailed that agreement. it's time for the president to tell us what he's for. it's not for the president to outline how we get out of this cul-de-sac he has driven us into. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.
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megyn: new evidence that one of the democrats' favorite lines against the romney-ryan ticket may be falling short. we have heard a lot about class politics. groups are going after romney's success and ryan's push to cut spending. does that resonate with voters in pollster frank luntz just found out with focus groups. >> if you talk about the priorities and the values of the middle class the public responds. but fighting for hard-working taxpayers is a higher priority than defending the middle class
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because we all think of ourselves as taxpayers. but we tests an ad that just came out from priorities -- from moveon.org and it was one of the worst tested ads of the campaign because it was so graphic and vicious. and you even see these candidates stepping on children. the public, the viewers said no way. let's take a look at one of the worst ads of the campaign so far. >> i, mitt romney and my vice presidential pick paul ryan do solemnly pledge we'll fight for fox cuts for millionaires and billionaires we'll pay for by stepping on the middle class and destroying medicare. mr. chairman and members of the 1% we thank you for your loyal and generous support and we accept your nomination for president and vice president of the 1%. megyn: you have to laugh it's so
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outrageous. >> people were laughing for the first few seconds. then when they saw them stepping on children it went from laughter to horror. the reaction was what kind of awful people were putting out ads like this. they felt there is something wrong with the campaign that would try to use children that way. megyn: i like on the dial the says mean. people don't like meanness. if you go to far, folks who don't like president obama but they have the velvet glove approach. we'll show how the dials go up. >> i voted for president obama with no reluctance. >> he presented himself as something different. >> i hoped the new president would bring new jobs, not major layoffs, not people going through foreclosures on their homes. >> he got his healthcare through but at what cost? >> he said he would cut the deficit in his first term.
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megyn: why did they like that so much? >> it many real people. not actors, no something fake. they talked about why they vote for barack obama. because he won by a significant margin. they named specific concerns about the economy, about the middle class, about the promises he made. and number four it's done so in a gentle way so you don't get this negativity you have in so much of political ads. bill clinton's speech last night was probably the most effective indictment against an opposition party's agenda of anything -- not an endorsement of barack obama, an inindictment. it was very effective. but the romney campaign and his support groups are better at advertising than the obama people. so it will be the ads. megyn: the most memorable moment
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from the republican national convention was clint eastwood's speech. even more so that mitt romney's speech. just in case you have forgotten, let's take a walk back. >> i would like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. something that i think is very important. you -- we, we own this country. we own it. and it's not you owning it and not politicians owning it. politicians are employees of ours. [cheers and applause] megyn: is that good memorable? is that a good thing or bad thing? >> you always want your presidential candidate to be the one that people remember. you want those clips to be replayed. the fact that you are showing it right here and all the other networks did the same thing takes away from mitt romney's speech. you don't get to seat most important part of his agenda. instead you are seeing someone else adding something to the
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conversation. but not your conversation. we polled on this. we found clint eastwood's impact was more positive than the media tended to communicate. they actually were interested in what he had to say. he went a little too long. but they agree with comments like we own this country. it was paul ryan's speech. those who saw both mitt romney and paul ryan chose paul rienls asking about the best, the most effective and the speech they will remember. megyn: frank, thank you. a new book from bob woodward prompting one conservative columnist saying this could be the democrats' worst nightmare. the failure to reach a deal or tackling our nation's runaway debt. right after this break what the woodward book reveals. the teleprompter said it was official but the democratic party angered some by putting references to god and jerusalem back into its platform.
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>> all those delegates opposed say no. and in the opinion of the chair 2/3 voted in the affirmative. the motion adopted and the platform has been amended as shown on the screen. pack your bags, we'll leave tonight. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... paradiiiiiise! no four. remember? whoooa whooaa whooo! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? happier than eddie money running a travel agency. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.
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megyn: we are getting the firsto first look at an insider account detailing a controversial moment from president obama's first term among other moment. journalist bob woodward dishing on the showdown between the white house and capitol hill. "the price of politics" lays out what he calls miscalculations and discord talking about who is
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to blame for the ongoing fiscal policy battle in washington. >> reporter: just before inauguration president-elect obama went to capitol hill to tell leaders of both parties he wanted a stimulus in the range of $800 billion to $1.3 trillion. he asked for everyone's ideas. he says the atmosphere for bipartisan cooperation was sincere on all sides. but then the president went his own way. the president believed government jobs could grow the economy while the republicans believed business could create more jobs. the house minority whip eric cantor arrived with a list of proposals including immediate reduction in the income tax rates and making unemployment benefits fax free among other things. the president rejected the cantor ideas and rubbed it in
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saying quote elections have consequences and, eric, i won. conservative democrats also had objections so democratic leaders nancy pelosi and harry reid were work on changes to win them over. president obama called them on speaker phones to tell them their efforts would save the economy. according to the book me lowsy hit the mute button and democrats went back to their work leaving the president speak into the ozone. the bill eventually passed but without a single republican vote. eric cantor says he was surprised how badly the white house played what should have been a winning hand. though obama won the vote he had unified and energized the losers. so in his earliest moments president obama succeeded in squandering goodwill and the chance to cooperate with republicans. megyn: the public learns more
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about this clash between congress and the white house. who wins in the eyes of the voters? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on the new book. more on the last-minute effort by the democrats to rework their party platform. those efforts did not seem to go as planned. why god and israel got booed. we are live in charlotte. [cheers and applause] >> we are here to reignite the american dream. >> this election is a moment of truth. >> we don't run this country for corporations. we run it for people. >> we believe we are in this together. >> this november each of us must speak out. >> you must vote and you must re-elect president barack obama. i proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the democratic party.
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[cheers and applause] >> how will clinton affect the obama campaign? >> there will be strong reaction from romney on that one. >> there is a tremendous amount of excitement. >> a fox news alert on a second day here in charlotte.
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>> i will be held accountable. i have got four years. and, you know, a year from now people are going to see that we are starting to make some progress. but there will be some pain out there. i don't have this done in three years then there is going to be a one-term proposition. megyn: one-term proposition. those words from president obama in 2009 saying if he failed to improve america's financial picture he would only get one term. he will take the stage in charlotte to convince americans he should get four more years. joining us, ben le bolt. i know it's a busy day for you. you have got to wish he hadn't phrased that and the to matt lauer quite that way. >> you heard this week the significant progress that's been made since the financial crisis
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in 2008. these factors have been reversed. businesses created 4 million jobs. gm is growing. but we can't stop there, we have to restore economic security for the middle class. the president will lay out the roadmap to do that tonight. megyn: things are not where he wanted them to be. 8.3% unemployment. the president seemed to be say fell didn't have that reversed by now he would be a one-term president. why should americans give him more time? >> we went through the worst economic crisis we have seen since the great depression. we didn't get into that overnight and it won't be solved overnight. should we build the economy from the middle class out or go back to the same economic policies that caused the crisis in the first place. that's what mitt romney and
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barack obama have reprossed. stripback oversight from banks and polluters. that's a financial house of cards that stretches the middle class thin. megyn: why do you think he said that? >> i think that americans will judge the president both on his record and his vision. and you compare the president's record which we just discussed to mitt romney's record. there is an economic choice that we have to make. megyn: why do you think he said that? i'm giving you the chance so many people said he said sit would be a one-term proposition. >> i think the record matters. if you are an auto worker in know ohio when your job was on the line and the industry is on the line the president granted rescue loans when pundits said no other politicians did.
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romney wrote an article that said "let detroit go bankrupt." if you are one of the young people across this country who have health insurance because of the affordable care act, that wouldn't be here. there are americans across the country who feel there is significant progress has been made. that's the record the president is running on. that stands in stark contrast to romney who made the same promises when he ran for governor of massachusetts. the job creation slipped behind other states. megyn: i want to talk about what happened on the dnc last night. we talked about this earlier. pundits came out today, this is a democratic strategist saying what we saw on the floor was beyond awkward and side. where they took god out of the democratic platform. they took the fact that jerusalem should be recognized as the capital city of israel
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out of the platform. then they tried to put it back in and we saw mayor villaraigosa three times trying to get this crowd to back reinsertion of this term and three times the crowd seemed split and he said we have got 2/3. is paul begalla right? was it beyond stupid? >> the platform committee developed that language from scratch. they laid out the president's record on israel. talking about the unprecedented security operation, military and intelligence cooperation. but when the president was informed that language was no longer in the platform he insured we took action. governor romney says some of the republican platform didn't reflect his views but he didn't stand up to get that language stripped out. the president did yes yesterday. megyn: is the platform consistent with the president's
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views? >> now it is. he looked at that language about god-given rights. he said why on would this be removed from the platform and he made sure sit went back in. megyn: he's criticized by those who are pro israel. what hasn't been reversed -- it used to call for spi -- used tor palestinian refugees to settle in another state, not israel. and. >> when you read the platform there is no question about how strongly this president has stood with israel. our security assistance to israel is unprecedented. megyn: on those two items does the president agree with their removal? >> the platform language was written from scratch. you know what the
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administration's policy is? it's been praised by israeli leaders across the spectrum for how strong the president has stood with israel at the u.n. governor romney said he would do the opposite on israel. he needs to come forward with his views. megyn: one more thing i wanted to talk to you. sandra fluke took to the stage. he is a georgetown law grad who is an advocate for contraception coverage. one of the things she spoke to, mitt romney's failure to more harshly condemn rush limbaugh to took a shot at her. sheer is what she said. -- here is what she said. >> in that america your new president could be a man who stands by when a public figure tries to silence a private citizen with hateful slurs.
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a man who won't stand up to those slurs or to any of the extreme bigoted voices in his own party. megyn: they put her in prime time which is a major to the for her. what about the president's silence on bill maher and the hateful things he has said about private citizens. >> i think all of the president's spokes people -- i don't know that the president has been asked about it. but the president's spokes people certainly made clear that bill maher crossed the line with his comments and had no place in the political discourse. i think he's always been somebody who is willing to criticize people on his own side of the aisle and his work towards civil discourse in politics. but governor romney hasn't stood up to extreme voice in his party. you had sheriff arpaio doing an event.
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he didn't stand up to rush limbaugh. i think that was an inappropriate discussion to have. megyn: why does the president stand up to bill maher? he said such vile things about so many women. yet the president has taken a million dollars from him. there is a question about whether our president should be associated with him and taking that money and being more forceful to stand up for the women he attacked, including the daughter of sarah palin and others. >> that money did not come into our campaign. it came into an organization we are not allowed to coordinate with. but time and time again the president has spoke out for civil discourse. i know we all made clear in this organization that bill maher's comments were inappropriate. we did so right when those questions were raised. and i think this was again an indication what she spoke about, governor romney's failure to stand up to the right wing in his party.
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he has failed to speak out and he adopted their economic policies. they would be a disaster for the middle class across this country. megyn: i'm sure it's a big flight for you guys. >> we are ready to go. megyn: thanks so much and congratulations on your big night here. all the best. we heard a picture is worth a thousand words. but the two men in this picture are not speaking much after the meltdown of the debt deal in washington. up next we'll look at who wins and losses in a new book from bob woodward on one of the roughest moments in the president's term. president obama did a walk through on the stage. normally they have the vice president go the night before the president. but tonight the vice president and the president taking to the stage. what should we expect from the master of the unexpected. stay tuned. ♪
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>> dealing with the white house is like dealing with a bowl of jell-o. i'm not going to get into the partisan sniping we heard earlier. >> it's hard to understand why speaker boehner would walk away from this kind of deal and frankly if you look at the commentary out there there are a lot of republicans that are puzzled as to why it couldn't get done. >> the only thing standing in the way of the house proposal over the senate is the president and senator reid. >> i said from the beginning the ultimate solution to our deficit problem must be balanced, despite what some republicans are argued. i believe we have to ask the wealthiest americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share by giving up tax breaks and special deductions. megyn: that was speaker john boehner and president obama hitting each other on the debt deal. now a new book by bob woodward
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called the price of poll continues describes displays of pure fury by president obama and accusations of speaker baron of a presidential tirade. will its release now influence voters in november? so what's so explosive about this book, tony? >> it reveals something republicans often talk about. you have a president who don't know how to lead and it is exposed his arrogance even among members of his own party led to mismanagement and almost abdication of his philosophy and strategy over the most important thing he can do to save us from this debt crisis that flultd a downgraced our credit rating for the first time in our history. it shows because an incompetent
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leader. megyn: will the book pin the breakdown of that debt deal on the president? >> the thing about this book is it's democrats complaining it's chris van hollen. they actually said in the 11th hour the person they vote off the island base was an impediment. even joe biden those could do it better, do it differently. i think that's a damning commentary on the president's leadership. megyn: there are a lot of folks on the right that come out with books that are not too favorable about barack obama. but this is bob woodward with an impeccable reputation. he's a pulitzer prize winner. does that create a pblem for the president? >> i don't know if it creates a problem. he wanted to be one of compromise and he had criticism from his own party.
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i think this is more indicative of what's happening in our congressional environment. the standoff between the democrats and republicans that hurting the american people. you look at the debt crisis with boehner-obama coming to the table and mcconnell saying we are going to shut down any policies from the obama administration. putting republicans who understand taxes in a bind. they understand the basics that we have to have taxes to pay for programs. that's a fundamental of economics. megyn: you talk about the allegation in this book and we haven't seen it yet of arrogance. they talk about how president obama is supposedly an arrogant guy, even some in his own party have grown to dislike. they thought when were going to get something else. is that unusual? do you get to the presidency without being a little arrogant? don't you have to be a little
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arrogant to think you can be president? >> last night you saw a president who spoke from this podium who was arrogant but very productive with congress, even members of the opposite party, that's bill clinton. bob woodward wrote a book called "the choice" that cataloged the budget showdown between congress and clinton. clinton and gingrich in this book bond over their troubles with their wives and other things and they smoked cigars and drank whiskey. this is part of the governing process. it's okay to be arrogant as long as it's not an impediment to your leading the country. megyn: it says the president was having conference calls with nancy pelosi and she was putting the mute button on it's a little bit of color, but does it move any voters? >> i can't say it would. you look at obama's likability it's at 50%. i don't think this likability
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with the public, this will influence it. megyn: the latest polls are 51-49. in general what happens behind closed doors. lbj would physically corner people to get things done. obama being criticized for being arrogant. i think he tries too hard to compromise. and focuses on the policy. he's almost an academic in a sense. whether that's something we should be critical of. i think it's a positive. megyn: what did you think of clinton last night. >> outstanding. if you look at the fact checkers i don't think he was telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. >> the real show will be whether president obama can outdo michelle obama's speech. megyn: what is happening down below? we'll get some more music.
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thank you. vice president biden is gearing up for his big speech. but his style sometimes gets him in trouble. what dose have planned for tonight? >> thank you, terry. and thank you, dr. pepper, and thank you, chancellor. dr. paper. i'm freaking out man. why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate?
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dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a killer investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the e-trade 360 investing dashboard.
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>> stand up, chuck. good to see you. god love ya. what aim talking about. you are make everybody else stand, though, pal. his mom lived in long island for 10 years or so. god rest her soul ... and although -- your mom is still alive it's your dad passed.
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thank you, terry, and thank you dr. pepper and thank you, chancellor ... dr. paper. megyn: those are some of the vice president's more notable gaffes. aside from the comments that sometimes force him to apologize. he's also known as being real and relightable to ordinary folks. what can we expect to hear from him tonight? mike emanuel live in charlotte with more. >> reporter: aides say the vice president will give a first-hand account of being by president obama's side when he's made difficult decisions. joe biden has served as a vocal advocate for the president's policies. now in campaign mode he works to fire up the base by blasting republicans. a key role for biden is connecting with middle class
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voters and frequently using direct plain language reflective of his scranton, pennsylvania roots. >> they call their plan new, bold and gutsy. but the neighborhood i come from there is nothing gutsy about giving a millionaire another tax break. >> reporter: but his propensity for gaffes steals the spotlight. on march 2010 on the date healthcare bill signing his enthusiasm got the best of him in front of an open microphone. the vice president quickly became known for his slipups. >> god rest her soul -- your mom's still alive it's your dad passed. >> three letter word, jobs, jobs, jobs. she's easily qualified to be vice president of the america and quite frankly may have been
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a better pick than me. he's going to let the big banks write their own rules. unchain wall street. they will put y'all back in chains. >> reporter: he reminds voters of some of the administration's proudest plirnlts. >> usama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. that sums it up. >> reporter: if there is a gravity will likely get you ared with so much focus on the president's speech. megyn: what obama need to say to the american people as he makes his case for another four years. we are live at the democratic national convention next. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --
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>>megyn: president obama makes the acceptance speech. will you watch? ll

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